


Trash Can Theif

by Peter_Rabbit



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Shapeshifters, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders is a raccoon, Human Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders, Human Logic | Logan Sanders, LITERALLY, M/M, Panic Attacks, Shapeshifter Anxiety | Virgil Sanders, Shapeshifting, Swearing, Tiny Anxiety | Virgil Sanders
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-08
Updated: 2020-02-08
Packaged: 2021-02-28 03:20:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22617034
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Peter_Rabbit/pseuds/Peter_Rabbit
Summary: Logan catches the raccoon that’s been raiding his trashcan for the past few weeks. Except it’s not really a raccoon and now he has a roommate. (Read the notes for additional warnings)Secret Santa for @infinimay on tumblr
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Logic | Logan Sanders, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Logic | Logan Sanders, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders & Logic | Logan Sanders
Comments: 10
Kudos: 169





	Trash Can Theif

**Author's Note:**

> Additional Warnings:  
> Since Logan and Roman think the raccoon in the trashcans is a wild animal they do discuss ways to get rid of him and eventually settle on taking him to get euthanized, this action is never discussed again after Logan meets Virgil but it does cause a panic attack.  
> Remus and Deceit are briefly mentioned by Virgil and are put in an unsympathetic light.  
> Mentions of Virgil being skinny and then gaining weight, this is thought of as a good sign and is never mentioned out loud or discussed by the characters.  
> Logan makes a lot of assumptions about what is best and easiest for Virgil, some of these things are fixed and discussed while others are not. Virgil, however, never gets more then mildly frustrated with him for this.

A raccoon had taken residence in Logan’s backyard. He first spotted it taking a nap a few weeks ago. He had thought it endearing then, not realizing the trouble it would cause. It was sprawled out on a branch of a tree, head resting over the side as its ears twitched. Its little paws hanging down on either side of the branch while its back paws held on to a knot in the branch. It was skinny and Logan couldn’t help but worry for it. The only thing that stopped him from setting out food for the little thing was the fear it would create a permanent and possibly attack his cat, Dante, for territory.

That did not stop it from finding another food source however, this being Logan’s trash can. The critter had found a way to open the lid and it easily pulled apart the bag to get at the discarded food within. Within the next few weeks Logan was picking up trash off the sidewalk. He tried everything he could think of to keep the lid shut, to keep the food in, to scare the raccoon off, nothing worked. Logan was getting desperate.

“Roman, I don’t know what I’m supposed to do,” He lamented to his friend in the middle of their game of chess, “It’s far more intelligent than any other animal I’ve ever dealt with, an adaptation from increased human dependence I’m sure, but I don’t want to pick up trash I’ve already disposed of for the rest of my duration in my apartment.”

“If the little bandit isn’t taking the hint then kick it out,” Roman answered, taking his turn.

“And how do you suspect I do such a feat? I can’t have a conversation with it that this arrangement isn’t working for me, as direct communication with animals via speech has not been and possibly will never be achieved, and even if I could converse with it I hardly doubt the thing would listen to me in the first place, as the only disadvantage it sees to its predicament is that I am annoyed with it but can't do anything but complain," Logan explained.

Roman looked up and rolled his eyes at him, "I meant trap it, Specs. Hide a trap by the trash can with what its favorite food is- and don't pretend you don't know what it is, I know you too well to know that you probably cataloged everything its taken and made notes on what was easy to grab and what it made an effort to take- and put that inside. The little bastard won't be able to resist and you'll have one less problem."

He thought it over, "If I am able to hide it efficiently then it's a possibility I may be able to catch it, though I will reiteration that it is very intelligent and has figured out how to overcome every single one of my attempts to keep it at bay have failed. I'm not overly confident of it, that is for sure, but it could work. What am I supposed to do with it after I have caught it?"

"Well," Roman started and sighed, his lips pulled down into a frown, "You could release it into the woods far- far away from here, which it may not be able to survive if it's so dependent on humans, or you could kill it."

"Oh. I'm not too fond of either of those options." 

"Neither am I, but there's nothing much else you can do Logan."

"Yes, I suppose you are right. Thank you, Roman. Checkmate."

The next week Logan set the trap. He thought he had hidden the trap well. With how attentive the raccoon was he didn’t think he had more than one shot to catch it before it caught on and easily avoided the rest of his attempts, so he had to make this first one perfect. He had secured the trap in a box that fit around it snugly so the bars weren't initially visible. He also added a second piece of cardboard inside to hide the metal bottom, making sure it was lightweight enough not to set off the pressure mechanism. Some of the parts were still visible as he couldn't cover them properly as they block the trap from closing, but they were still hard to notice. He placed it by the trash can, throwing in some coffee beans and chocolate covered pretzels as he did, before heading to bed. 

Virgil had was getting used to living out in human territory. Ever since his clan had exiled him for accepting a gift from a human he had trouble adjusting from forging berries, bugs and frogs to digging through trash cans. Especially since many of those trash cans were made with the intent of keeping things like him out. Then he found this one little apartment area with some nice trees with empty dens and a couple trash cans just out in the open. It was a major territory score, he later had to fight tooth and nail for it but it was worth it. A few of the owners of the bins put up cage traps when he started getting a little more reckless with his scavenging, but they were easily recognizable. He even managed to sniff out the rat poison one person dumped in her trash and he gladly knocked over her entire bin that week.

At this point he didn't think he had much to worry about and, to be honest, getting exiled was probably the best thing that happened to him. No more stuffy rules or some stuffy snake to hiss at him whenever he came back late from a hunt, and no more eating little bugs or having to fight a dumb smelly rat for the meal he caught himself. Now he had coffee grounds, which tasted amazing and kept him more alert, and dark chocolate that was bitter and sweet, and just about any other human food that tasted processed but absolutely delicious. He'd much more liked it here then the middle of the woods. He had even actually managed to put on some chub in this time, his metabolism not being able to handle the sudden increase and consistency of food he was consuming.

He came to one of his favorite spots now, some young kid's apartment that always had the best loot. This guy hadn't tried to catch him or poison him yet, but, oh, did he try to keep Virgil out. He had started with just setting heavy things on the lid, then bungee cords, then tried double bagging his trash, putting the food in separate bags, using perfumes to mask the smells, etcetera, etcetera. Virgil got through all of it, it especially helped being above average in intelligence for a raccoon, and also not a raccoon at all sometimes. He ended up enjoying ripping through this kid's trash, the deterrents were more like fun puzzles for him now. Today, it seemed, Puzzle Guy hadn't put up any deterrents for him this time. He hoped the kid hadn't given up or run out of ideas, that would make these nights a little more boring.

He pulled off the lid, having mastered the art of getting it out of the way without falling off the trash can as well, and sniffed inside the bin for something good. He had smelled coffee on his way here and usually that meant Puzzle Kid had thrown some out, except he wasn't getting any of that smell from inside the bin. He looked down the bin confused and then lifted his head to sniff the air- Was it another trashcan nearby with coffee? No, the smell was close by. He jumped down and followed the scent to a cardboard box by the trash can, he barely thought twice before crawling inside to find the coffee.

The metal door snapped shut with a loud snap. Virgil jumped, he banged his head on the metal mesh above his head and wailed loudly. It took a moment for the events to process in his mind and his eyes widened as he transformed into his more humanoid body. The door was tilted in at the top, he reached his fingers through the crossed bars to try to grasp at the mechanism holding it closed but it was far out of his reach. The panic started to set in and he grasped at the metal door and shook it with all his strength, trying to get it to budge. Nothing. He couldn't move it a centimeter. His breath caught in his lungs and he couldn't get any more air into his body and he was left gasping, the scent of coffee beans and salt overwhelming him, and the cage grazed his skin as he kept jerking away from one side and grazing the other. A minute that felt like an hour passed and Virgil's lack of air finally caught up to him and his eyes rolled back and his head dropped onto the cardboard lined bottom.

Logan came out to the trash cans that morning. He honestly had doubt he had caught the crafty thing, even if most raccoons would have entered an uncovered trap with little question, he still believed this one was much smarter than any other raccoon. However, the raccoon was still being a menace to him and his neighbors and it was high time it was removed. He had called ahead to the animal shelter to ask if the raccoon could be euthanized there, they said if he could bring it in then they'd do it for a small fee. He really hated the idea of it, but he rather the creature die quick and painlessly, then him dropping it off in the woods for it to either return here or starve to death out there, or, worse, for some other person to get a hold of it and not treat it like a living creature.

He spotted the lid had been popped off and he sighed, thinking he had missed his opportunity. He grabbed the bottom of the cage to pull it out of the box. Then he heard a loud hiss and the box shaking as the creature within moved. Logan froze for a second before pulling the trap all the way out of the box. There was the raccoon, glaring up at him with large mismatched violet and green eyes. Violet and green. Those couldn't be normal. He crouched down to get a better look but the creature hissed at him again and swiped it's tiny paw at him, reminding Logan that, despite it's unique eyes, these was still very much a wild animal. 

"You, my little puzzle solver, have been, metaphorically, a thorn in my side, and I look forward to- to no longer picking my trash up off the ground," He said, almost gently, as the raccoon hissed at him again. Taking his phone out of his pocket was, decidedly, a much harder task then it should have been. He dialed the number of the animal shelter and waited for them to pick it. 

"Sandy Sides County Animal Shelter, this is Shauna speaking, how can I help you today?"

"Hello, yes, I am Logan Crofter, I called earlier this week about the raccoon," Logan answered. He ignored the way the raccoon dropped it's sneer for a second to look at him curiously.

"Oh, yes of course. Did you catch the little guy?"

"Yes, I have him here, is it alright if I bring it in today, then?" He asked, ignoring even more the now concerned look of the raccoon, because there was absolutely no way it was reacting to what he was saying.

"Of course! We wouldn't want you to keep him."

"Satisfactory, I'll be over as soon as possible. I don't want it to suffer in fear or pain for too long. It will be painless right?" Logan looked away from the raccoon as it's expression changed once more to seemingly a look of horror and he was not going to entertain the idea that this woodland dwelling animal could understand him.

"Yes, of course we don't want-"

"Wait! Stop!" A scratchy voice cut over Shauna. 

"Shauna I- I may have to call you back," Logan stuttered as his eyes shot back to the trap. Inside, where the raccoon once curled up, was a miniature person. He was crouched by the door, his hands clasped tightly around the bars, his knuckles white. He wore a thin threadbare black hoodie, black ripped jeans, and black sneaker-style shoes. His skin was pale and spotted with little moles and his black hair fell over his violet and green eyes. Violet and green.

"Mr. Crofter, is everything alrig-" He hung up before she could finish the question. His phone slipped from his hand onto the ground. 

"Please, dude, please. Don't have me killed, I know I might have pissed you off but we can talk this out can't we?" The man- raccoon- animal person thing pleaded and Logan finally took in how much he was shaking.

Logan took a deep breath, then two, "Alright."

The person stared, still shaking, "What?"

"We can talk this out." Logan repeating what the person had said. "We'll just- I'm going to take you inside so no one sees us and we're going to talk."

The person didn't argue, or say anything else for that matter. Logan took that as an agreement and took the trap by the handles and stepped quickly into the house. He set it on the counter and stepped back. The two stared at each other before Logan looked away to pinch himself, hard, and only hissed in pain instead of waking up, "That's one plausible theory out the figurative window." 

He looked around for something to do with his hands while he figured himself out and headed towards the coffee maker, just barely catching how the person flinched at his sudden movement, "Would you like some coffee? You liked the grinds from my trash, correct? Assuming you are in fact the same raccoon or the raccoon at all. Have you had it in its liquid form before? I can make you a mug and you can try it if you like."

It nodded in the corner of his eye, "Sure," his speech was scratchy and cracked at the end. Logan wondered if that was from possible lack of use, fear or both. 

"Great, would you want anything in it? Creamer? Sugar?" Logan asked.

"Uh- Sugar?" The answer came out more like another question. Logan guessed he'd never had either in coffee, but he'd fill the request.

"Alright." Logan poured in the water and closed lid, starting the coffee maker and listening to it begin to heat the water. He was silent for a minute until the coffee started pouring and he finally turned to the person again, who was watching the coffee maker with curiosity and awe. Maybe he had never been inside a house before; that could be plausible if he was never any bigger then the size he was now. Logan cleared his throat, drawing his attention, "I have many questions, but can I start with: What are you?"

He watched Logan for a moment then took a shaky breath and shrugged, "Raccoon."

"Not right now you are not," Logan pointed out.

The person smirked, "Nope."

Logan blinked, "I- Are you really not going to tell me?"

Another shrug, "Why should I? It makes no difference what I am. I'm still here and stuck in this dumb trap."

"Oh! Apologies!" Logan exclaimed, realizing he had left him to sit in the small trap. He stepped over in two strides, pausing only a moment when the person jumped back into the bars to get as far from him as possible. He grabbed the door and stopped again, watching the person's chest rapidly rise and fall, "I'm going to open the door, I would appreciate it if you did not attack me when I do so, is that acceptable? I will not touch you or get any closer."

The person's mismatched eyes darted from his hand to his face a few times before he nodded.

Logan nodded back and flipped up the mechanism and hooked the door in place before backing away again. The person watched him until he was no longer in reach and slowly crawled out, he was probably only a foot and a half tall, if not smaller, his jacket was big on him but the jeans were tight against his skin, the jacket was probably made as such but the jeans looked to be reaching a size too small. The person shuffled and Logan realized he had been staring.

"Apologies, again, for staring this time. I'm just- thinking." Logan explained.

"I get it," he mumbled, "I'm a pretty freaky sight to take in."

"I wouldn't say freaky, you mostly just look like a tiny college student that messed up his metabolism with unhealthy eating habits," Logan answered, taking in the slight chubbiness in his face

The person chuckled, "Okay, don't know what exactly a college student is but I definitely have a messed up metabolism. Going from having to scavenge everyday to an entire buffet of trash cans nearby will do that to you."

"You scavenged in wilderness? What happened that forced you into a more populated area?"

"Got into a fight with my clan and they kicked me out, something about disobedience and betrayal and blah blah blah, honestly you take one Oreo from some guy in a blue shirt and everyone goes crazy."

"I'm guessing this is recent?"

"Yeah, but it's whatever, best thing that ever happened to me. Now I get cookies every now and then and I don't even have to share them."

"You miss them, I'm sure, " Logan pressed, recognizing the defensive attitude.

"What? No I don't miss them. They're assholes. I don't need them and they obviously don't need me,``he hissed.

"It's alright to be sad, y'know? They were likely a family to you, you can miss them and be sad," Logan said gently.

The person glared at him, "I'm not sad! I'm relieved! They were dicks! They only kept me down and used me to get food. They insulted me and pushed me around and- and-" he wiped his reddening eyes, "I don't care about them."

Logan sent him a gentle smile, "Family can be a difficult subject. My own parents kicked me out as well, but they were still my parents. I miss them and I want to make amends with them some time, but I think I have to wait for them to open up more."

"What they kick you out for? Wearing those dumb things on your face?" He snapped at him.

Logan chuckled, "No, I came out as gay to them, I wish to marry another man some day."

"Oh, that's dumb."

"I think so as well, but there is nothing to do about that at this time." Logan turned to the coffee maker and poured himself a mug and then filled an espresso mug he owned. He poured a bit of sugar into it and handed it to the small person, it was still comically large to him but it would do.

"Uh thanks." He took a small snip hesitantly, before his eyes lit up and he took three big gulps, "Oh this is much better than just coffee grinds."

"Yes, I thought you would think as such," Logan laughed and sipped from his own mug, "Is there any chance that you could go back to your clan? Maybe work something out?"

"Nah. You were right, I miss them, but it's really better that I got out of there. It wasn't the best situation for me," He answered, staring down into the cup.

"Understandable, but I hate to say that you can no longer steal from our trash cans. The neighbors are starting to get restless."

"Yeah I noticed," he huffed and he tapped his foot against the counter, "What if I just took from your trash can then?"

"I set up the trap to specifically get you to stop doing that," Logan pointed out, but he did continue on that train of thought, "What if instead you stayed here and lived with Dante and I."

"Uh.. what?"

"It could feasibly work. I should have enough income to house and feed you, and this way you have consistent shelter and stay out of everyone's trash cans," Logan explained.

"So, what? I just become- like- your pet or something?"

Logan grimaced, "No. You are too much like a human being to give you such a title, more like, a roommate."

"Roommate?" He asked. Logan watched the small person with interest as he began to pace the counter, looking down at his sneakers with a hand over his face and his other arm crossed over his body. Every now and then he'd look up at something in the room or Logan or out the window, mutter something before returning his attention to his sneakers to pace again. Logan delicately sipped his coffee as he waited patiently. After two minutes of this he looked up, a glint in his eye and smirk on his lips, "Alright. Roommates. That could work."

"Great, we should start with our names then, don't you think?" Logan quipped.

"Oh right. You first."

Logan rolled his eyes but obliged, "My name is Logan, Logan B. Crofter."

"Virgil."

After introductions were exchanged, the two of them set down some ground rules and agreements. Common boring stuff that no one needs to get into, all you need to know is that it Virgil got permission to use the cat door as he pleased as long as he didn't terrorize the neighbors. When they were finished Virgil dusted his hands off like they had just finished some heavy task and stood up from when he had sat down criss-crossed, “Well now that’s that through I think a tour of your place is an order. Don’t you?"

"Of course," Logan agreed. Virgil nodded and looked over the counter to see how far he'd have to climb to get down. It wasn't far and he could do it on his humanoid form; but then two large hands came forward and he froze as they wrapped around his middle under his arms. He squeaked as he was lifted and then set onto the ground. He stared at the ground for a moment in shock, his body shaking under his hoodie.

Logan took a step back and the movement made his eyes dart towards the human. His form only shook harder as for the first time he looked at a human for the first time, especially in this form. Logan was huge, towering over him without even trying to, Virgil's head didn't even reach above his knee at his height; and Logan was strong, stronger than him anyway. He was strong enough to lift Virgil up with barely any effort. Did Remus ever feel this small next to Virgil? Logan looked down and frowned, "Virgil, are you alright? Did I scare you? I apologize if I did, it just seemed the fastest way off the counter was for me to-"

"Yeah. Yeah," Virgil cut him off, taking a deep breath, "It's- It's fine L. Let's just go." 

His ratty tennis shoes pitted on the tile as he walked away from the giant to the living room. He wasn't going to tell Logan how much his size bothered him. There was nothing to do about it anyway and there was always a chance Logan would use that discomfort against him. He listened for the footsteps behind him, despite their larger nature they barely made more noise than him, his socks padding against the smooth surface.

The living room was large with a couch pushed against the wall, small coffee table, television in the corner (which Virgil had seen some of from peering inside of windows on more than one occasion), and, most noticeably about the room, a large cat tree against the opposite wall of the couch covered and surrounded by a large assortment of cat toys. Virgil chuckled, "You sure like your cat."

"Yes, I do, he has helped me through a lot these last few years and deserves, in my opinion, anything he desires," Logan answered rather seriously for someone speaking about their cat, "And while you don't have like him if you can't manage to, I would prefer it if you did not bother or injure him."

"I won't touch him if he doesn't touch me," Virgil replied, shrugging off the look Logan was giving him. He had a feeling that if he so much as gave that cat a warning scratch he'd be sent packing, most likely to the middle of a national park.

The rest of the apartment was upstairs with a bedroom, office, and bathroom. Logan had agreed to let Virgil take part of the office as his own space, and said he'd get a bed and a chest for him to keep any things he obtained, which, Logan had made this clear, did not mean he could take anything Logan owned and claimed it as his own. Virgil had tried to convince Logan that was awful stereotyping against the fact that he was a raccoon but Logan still didn't budge on the policy, probably for the best, Virgil had planned on taking things he liked. He was still gonna do it, he just had to be careful about it.

Logan also promised some new clothes for him, which he knew he needed but he really didn't want to give up these. It took some very rare camp raids to get the clothes he had now, which was extra hard since the others had refused to help him and he had to drag jeans and a sweatshirt a mile through the woods before being able to even start working on cutting and resewing them to fit him. He put a lot of hard work into these and he was damned if he was going to throw these out just cause he got some new ones.

He was shown the office last, Logan pushing it open more than the crack it was open at to give him a full view of the room before he entered. Virgil walked hesitantly in, fully aware that he had yet to meet the infamous Dante. He looked all around to spot the brown tabby laying down in the office chair and staring at him with wide eyes. He kept his eyes on him as the cat pulled itself into a sitting position and leaped off the chair with far more grace then Virgil had. Dante stalked closer on silent paws until he was right in front of Virgil, his head just reaching above his waist.

Fear found itself coursing through his body, a cat had never bothered him before but he has never met a cat he couldn't fight. One smack and he was out and Dante would be keeping the entire apartment to himself. Virgil took several deliberate steps back and towards the exit before he heard it click shut. He went stiff as he looked up to Logan with wide eyes, "What are you doing? Let me out."

Logan only hummed, "I had not considered the notion that Dante would scare you, as you are bigger and, I assume, have had to fight one before for food or territory. However, despite that I think you should get acquainted with Dante so you're both comfortable. It won't be a good situation for either of you if you do not like one another.

Virgil swallowed and nodded, but then he turned back and Dante was right in front of him, stretching his neck up to sniff his face. Virgil yelped and backed into the door before darting into the corner behind a filing cabinet, transforming into his raccoon form as he did. Dante had a similar reaction to the sound and scrambled under the desk.

He could hear Logan sigh from were he was and listen to him get up and walk to the desk. He peered out to watch Logan coo at Dante and pull him out before sitting on the floor as he held him in his lap, "Virgil, would you please come out."

His tail puffed as he glared at Logan, chittering at him angrily for locking him in this room with a stupid cat that he couldn't hurt but would probably hurt him. Logan only glared back, "You are not leaving this room until you and Dante are acquainted. Now, you can do that while I'm here to keep an eye out or I can leave to let Dante roam free."

Virgil thought that was very unfair but came forward anyway. He slowly approached Logan's lap, where Dante was being restrained by his arms, being petted as they waited for him to stop being a scaredy bear. He got to Logan's knee and placed his two paws on it as he leaned forward to sniff Dante's scent to see if there was any fear or aggression. There wasn't, Dante was fine. 

Virgil looked up at Logan and huffed at the small smile on his face. He let go of Dante and used his now free hand to rub Virgil's head, Virgil batted away his hand with his paws.

Dante leaped over Logan's legs and rubbed up against his side before heading to the door and meowing at it insistently. Seemed Dante wasn’t very interested in Virgil more than claiming him as a member of the household. 

"Yes, I'm coming," Logan said with loving resign. Virgil went to back away but instead was once again lifted with those big hands and suddenly Logan was placing him against his shoulder as he stood, got the door for Dante, and followed him out. Virgil chittered loudly and annoyingly in Logan's ear as he squirmed to get him to let go or to pull himself up onto the shoulder himself. 

They were down the stairs before Logan put him down, "Apologies, but it took forever for you to get up the stairs, I did not want to repeat that," he explained but he didn't sound sorry.

Virgil hissed at him but didn't say anything, just lumbering into the kitchen. He was going to get himself a snack and also get back at Logan by dumping something out on the floor.

Logan followed him though, and got a snack for him, which he guessed was going to be the start of a line of things being done for him. He wasn’t going to complain about, it was demeaning as all heck but Virgil could handle it if it meant food and a bed and not having to do anything.

Weeks went by and Logan thought the situation was going fairly well. Virgil seemed to be adjusting well, though he had the mischievous streak of a raccoon. He made messes and attempted to pull stunts that he definitely shouldn't be attempting himself and, despite Virgil thinking he was sneaky, Logan noticed the him collecting his things for what seemed to be no other apparent reason than to spite him. Despite this slight betrayal Virgil was good company, he made good conversation when in his human form, and was an entertaining creature when he was in his raccoon form. Logan ended up writing down Virgil's behaviors in a journal so he could better understand the bridge between the human and raccoon parts. He noted that while it was seemingly obvious Virgil had the same mental capacity in both forms, he was more comfortable indulging his raccoon instincts while in the appropriate form. Virgil also got more comfortable with telling and, more often, showing Logan how he felt about certain things. While the arrangement had seem cut and dry, they still had many bumps to smooth out

"Put me down! Jesus fuck!" Virgil had shouted one day, about three weeks into them living together, "I honestly thought I would just get used to it but, holy shit, you are grabby man. I don't like this!"

Logan immediately set him down and back up, "You do not? You have asked me to carry you before?" 

Virgil huffed, "Yeah! When I ask I'm comfortable with it; but you just grabbing me is kinda fucking weird, especially when I can do the things myself! I don't need help up and down the stairs and I don't need you taking me off counters and I certainly don't need you picking me up when you're just walking by so you can have me in the same room as you so your not alone. I'm not your fucking cat Logan, I want to choose for myself where to go and when."

Logan took in Virgil's words as he watched his body language as well. Virgil was upset and, with the way he was presenting himself now, it was a wonder how he managed to hold himself back so long. Looking back at his behavior he realized he had been treating him much like he does Dante, increasingly so when Virgil was in his raccoon form. "Virgil.. I- I am sorry. I hadn't realized how thoughtless my actions were. I should have realized sooner that picking you up like I do is not appropriate. Apologies."

There was a moment where Virgil just glared at him and Logan wondered if maybe he had caused irreversible damage to their relationship. Then Virgil's shoulders dropped and he nodded, "Alright Specs, just stop doing it, okay?"

"Very well," Logan replied, "Well then, would you like to accompany me to the office?"

Virgil grumbled at the floor and, peculiarly, his cheeks went red, "Yeah sure. Just- I'm walking there."

"Understandable," Logan continued walking towards the stairs. Virgil was right behind, speed walking after his long steps but walking by himself none the less.

He tried to imagine what it was like for Virgil to be picked up. Logan's hand was larger than almost a third of Virgil’s body and to have that kind of thing come down and wrapped it's fingers tight around your middle and move you without consent- Logan shivered and now wondered how Virgil could have tolerated that type of treatment for so long and then ask for it as well. He was well aware of their height difference but he would have to put more effort in figuratively putting himself in Virgil's shoes more often.

Speaking of shoes, Logan had been able to commission online a pair of actual sneakers for Virgil that would fit him. As well, Logan had gotten Virgil some fabric and sewing supplies to allow him to make his own clothing, which Virgil had insisted upon. He was thankful for that, he wasn't sure how he would have been able to actually commission an entire wardrobe for Virgil without going broke in the process.

He had gotten Virgil a bed and chest like he had promised, along with a room divider. Which was where Virgil was now, hiding in his room as Roman had come over today for their weekly chess game. Logan had spoke about Roman enough, that despite his mostly good words, the raccoon had decided he didn't need to meet the boisterous man. He understood where Virgil was coming from when Roman first came over and immediately shouted something, scaring Dante under the couch. 

Roman came every week and while Logan had tried to hide Virgil's existence he had a feeling Roman was starting to suspect something was up. It seemed this week he was tired of pretending everything was the same, "Did you get another pet?"

He didn't look up until he finished setting up the chess pieces, "No. Why?"

"There's grey and black fur Logan, Dante is brown." 

Logan looked up at Roman who was picking at a few strands of fur off the couch. He hadn't thought of that, "Oh? Are you sure?"

"Logan I'm not stupid or color blind, you have another animal in here," Roman snapped, "Why are you hiding it from me."

"I am not!" Logan exclaimed, a bit too loud. Roman raised an eyebrow at him and Logan knew now that he couldn't hide it anymore, "Fine. He's a nervous creature, he's a rescue and doesn't much care for people, especially loud people."

"Rude," Roman huffed, "Well how do you know he doesn't want to meet me? Maybe he's crying pitifully at your bedroom door right now, wanting to be let out!"

"Considering he's in my office with the door open I find that very unlikely. Roman, he genuinely doesn't want to meet you, or any person for that matter. In fact, I'm still working out the kinks with him."

"What if you introduce me slowly, with treats and encouragement?"

"He would hate you more."

"You don't know that!"

"I do."

"Fine. I'm going to use the bathroom," Roman said and got up.

Logan stood and grabbed his arm, "No you're not, you're going to try to sneak into my office, which I'm not letting happen."

Roman scoffed and removed his arm from Logan's grip, "I wasn't going to-" he didn't finish as he darted towards the stairs and leaped up them two at a time.

"ROMAN!" Logan shouted as he chased after him. 

The office door banged open and there was a loud shriek from Virgil. Roman stood in the doorway, and Logan stepped behind him but couldn't see into the room yet- Goodness did Roman catch Virgil in his human form? He seemed pretty quiet. He better start explaining. "Roman, I can explain, Virgil-"

Roman turned to him, and Logan could see Virgil in his raccoon form hissing at Roman from the office chair, Roman looked aghast, "Is that the raccoon that was raiding your trash can several weeks ago?"

"I- uh-" Logan now almost hoped Roman had seen Virgil's human form, despite his promise to keep it a secret, because then he wouldn't have to somehow explain why he brought this menace of wild life into his home, "It is."

"Why- Logan, why the heckity heck, five abs and one pec did you bring that emo, thieving disaster into your apartment?" Roman asked. 

He saw Virgil's head tilt in confusion before glaring at Roman for his insult, Logan smiled slightly. "He makes good company."

"He makes-" Roman repeated, "Logan! That is a wild raccoon! He's hissing at me!"

Logan rolled his eyes and entered the office, despite Roman's calls of disapproval. He leaned down by the chair. "May I?" he asked, holding out his hands. Virgil climbed up on his shoulder and he wrapped his arms around him to keep him secure. He stood and gave Roman a look.

Roman's jaw hung open as he looked between Logan and the raccoon, "You can't be serious."

"He's docile, you just came in and scared him. Which I told you you would do." Logan set Virgil down. He snorted at Roman before walking behind the room divider to get away from him. Logan continued, "Virgil doesn't like people, besides me it seems."

There was a loud, disagreeing chittering behind the divider and Logan smiled. Roman closed his mouth, opened it again and closed it before speaking, "Did you seriously name the raccoon Virgil? How much of a nerd are you Calculator Watch? Dante and Virgil, really?"

Logan blinked before his face went red, "I never made the connection."

Roman made a frustrated sound, "Logan what the absolute heck? You named your dark little monster Virgil and somehow didn't do it based off of Dante's brilliant work of popularized self-insert fanfiction where he hangs out with his celebrity crush, Virgil the poet, the very author that you named your cat, Dante, after. You just named him Virgil just cause?"

Logan nodded.

Roman threw up his hands and stormed out of the office, "That's it! I'm done! See you next week Logan!" 

"But our chess game?" Logan asked a second too late as Roman was out of earshot. Another minute and the front door thudded shut. "Well.. that went.. different than expected?"

"You named your cat after a fanfiction author?" Virgil asked, he had somehow popped up on the office chair again as it spun lazily, he looked incredibly tiny with how big the chair was compared to him. 

"Roman insists that's what he is, yes, but he's more of a Florence poet from the thirteenth century," Logan explained, "He had many great works but he is most famous for his work, The Inferno."

"Oh, cool," Virgil nodded, "And there's a guy named Virgil in it, who's a celebrity? Who's a celebrity in the thirteenth century?"

"Another poet, he guided Dante through hell," Logan answered.

"Cool. Can I read this?" Virgil asked. He was looking up at the ceiling with a bored expression, but Logan caught his eyes darting to him, he was excited by the idea.

Logan chuckled, "We should get a little further in your reading lessons before we try such a complicated text. Though we'll get there soon, I promise."

Virgil grinned and hopped out of the chair. "Let's start reading then, you have the whole day off now, don't you?"

"I do."

Logan sat down in the chair and, with permission, lifted Virgil onto the edge of the desk. They began their reading lessons, that of which Virgil was learning quickly. Logan couldn't help but smile as they spoke and did their lesson. Virgil was such a fascinating creature, not because of what he was, but because of who he was, Logan couldn't help but want to learn everything he could about the young man, and having the opportunity to do so what not be taken for granted.

Virgil smiled at him when he got a particularly hard word right and Logan felt his ears go red and a warmth in his heart and he wondered if he could find a way to see that particular smile everyday from here on out.


End file.
